TLA did indeed rock. And our new Sourcebooks Children's and YA Publicity Manager, Derry Wilkens (a Texas girl herself) rocks pretty hard, too! Got to hang with the Sbooks gang and author buds and mentors, eat great vegies at Threadgills and a piece of sweet potato/pecan pie and a killer cocktail at Moonshine Grill and bacon shrimp and cheddar grits at Bess's.... (most of that was in one day so please do not judge) Fabulous Texas writers were everywhere: Cyn and Greg Leitich Smith, PJ Hoover, Jessica Anderson, Kathy Whitehead, Janet Fox (who will always be an honorary Texan), Kelly Bennett, Dede Fox Ducharme (who is writing some amazing poetry these days) , Varian Johnson, Christina Mandelski, Crystal Allen, Dottie Enderle, Jenny Moss, Bettina Restrepo (I bow to her energy level!) and more. And I finally got to meet Rebecca Stead and tell her how much I adore her writing. Plus Ruth McNally Barshaw, whose doodles and drawings always make me laugh! (she is not a Texan, but that is okay)
If you came out to the Sourcebooks booth to say hi, get a book signed, get an "Authors are my Rockstars" tee shirt - thanks!
And let me say that I love being at TLA on teen day - packs of teen readers roaming the exhibit hall in search of books and swag. One group from Weslaco in south Texas had gotten on the bus at 2AM! And they were driving back later that day. That is book dedication!
I'm always thanking bloggers and librarians and this post is no exception: Jen Bigheart, Steph Pellegrin (Literary Lonestars), Michelle Flores (Windowpane Memoirs) Katie (Mundie Moms), and my Houston girl - Maria (Cari Blogs) - and many, many, many more. Plus librarians like Lois Buchman and the indomitable Terri Lesene (Professor Nana) - you rock the cause of literacy!
Of course, my Sourcbooks publicity peeps - Derry, Melissa, and Kay (who was back in Naperville but still an active presence) - make events roll smoothly and make sure I'm where I need to be when I need to be there.
And now the CONTEST!!
Wanna win a signed copy of HAUNTED and a HAUNTED t shirt??
Become a follower of this blog if you aren't already (and/or follow me on Twitter (@joypreble) and comment on the blog with an answer to this question: Why do you love book bloggers and librarians?
The best answers will go in the contest hat and winner will be chosen. I will post winner here on the blog and ask you to email me, so check back or I'll pick someone else!
Contest will be open through Friday 4/22 so enter now!!
It was SO great to see you...your signing line was huge! Texas (and everyone else) loves you to pieces! We are lucky to have you.
ReplyDeleteJen
I kept hearing Joy's line is huge which made me so happy! I am so glad we got to hang out and there are so many more fun times ahead! Jen is right we are lucky to have you because you are Awesome!
ReplyDeletePS People enter this contest. My first prize I ever was was a copy of Joy's book which I love!
I am going to follow you by twitter, because it is easier with my phone. I never had a relationship with a librarian, because my parents never pushed reading. So when I had my daughter I started our only library at home. But I hunted and pecked for books. I started following book bloggers about a year ago on twitter. WOW!!! I have never been steered wrong. I went from not really reading to 75 books in one year. I've won a few books, but I have spent so much more on books. Heed notice book world. I used to just dig through 1/2 Priced books, now I am waiting impatiently for new book releases. Thanks blogger world for all your great advice and comradeship. Amy @bookgoonie bookgoonie at yahoo
ReplyDeleteIt was so GREAT to see you ;) It was fun and I think it was the longest line I did /HaHa/.
ReplyDeleteJoy- It was so wonderful to see you! I loved seeing you at the Teen Book Con and really enjoyed being able to stop by and visit w/ you at TLA. I agree, the SBooks team is fabulous!
ReplyDeleteYour line was crazy long and so wonderful! There were so many amazing teens and librarians there, but to get up at 2 am and ride a bus to TLA is really dedication!!
Thank you for being so wonderful! YAY for Janet Fox. Thank you to Michelle at Windowpane Memoirs, I got to stop by her signing and meet her. I look forward to seeing you again!
Joy - no need to enter me cause I'm already a happy book owner, but it was so great to see you there and wow! What a line you had! Michelle - so lovely to meet you and Katie *blows kisses* back at you!!
ReplyDeleteSuch a great TLA! So glad I got to spend a little time with you in Houston and then in Austin too. :)
ReplyDeleteI just finished Dreaming Anastasia and I loved it! I would probably already have finished Haunted too, if the local library had it.
ReplyDeleteI love book bloggers because they will tell you the truth about books, and they do not sugar coat their opinions like media reviews often do. They are also more accessible if you have questions, and will answer things that other reviews do not cover.
I love librarians because they are full of knowledge, and can help you find books that you may like. You know they love books, or else they would not be there.
I'm a follower on your blog already, new twitter follower (Kr15tina)
ReplyDeleteWhy do I love book bloggers?
Simple they are awesome! I'm a new book blogger and I really love entering into the book addicts community. Everyone is so awesome and they have a lot of good things to express. I love to see what other books people are reading and what they thought about it with an honest opinion. They will open my eyes to a new book that I may not have chosen to read with out them and than I will be truly grateful they turned me to that book. They bring up and discuss interesting topics like "Do book blogger really sell books" and many others that are interesting to read about. I love seeing what other blogger are meeting and what they are able to get for advanced books and review the new stuff.
The list can go on and on, but I won't
As for librarians I don't go to the library too much because if I read the book and like it then I will have to buy it so I'm just skipping the rental portion. But librarians are amazing people, they have such a wide range of knowledge and they are book lovers. What is not to love about that type of person!
I love librarians because they have always been the keepers of the books for me. Ever since I was a child, I entered this magical kingdom where everything you wanted to know - or didn't even realize you wanted to know - was found between the covers of these magical instruments called books and librarians always seemed to know to grant your every literary wish. It's no wonder that my first job was in a library!
ReplyDeleteI think book bloggers are amazing because they take what librarians do and augment it. They inspire people to read, they are the masters of word of mouth, and an author's best source of getting their works into the hands of readers. They are the masters of the internet!
I Love book bloggers and librarians because its something that i'm interested in knowing about, like book releases, reviews and giveaways and of course i'm always looking for something new to read and enjoy.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the giveaway!!
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ReplyDeleteWhy do I love Book bloggers and Librarians?
ReplyDeleteI guess you could say that the two are alike in the fact that they know so much about books and they seem to be able to know right where to go to get the information that a reader needs. The thing that I like most about them is that they both open readers up to so many new possibilities. I read many book blogs. Selfishly I started reading them to try to find people to review my book but when I discovered them I now really just like to see what they have to say about books. I mostly read Christian Fiction or Romance Novels and the occasional YA book that my 12 year old recommends to me. I found a review for Dreaming Anastasia through one of these blogs. Being fascinated with The Romanovs it was a must read. I couldn't put it down, same with Haunting. Had I not gone to this blog I might not have ever known about your books. I was intrigued by the story though it was outside of my typical genre. The Book Bloggers have converted me!! I have so much respect for Librarians because they do the same. A really good librarian is like a good bartender... they know what you need as soon as you walk in the door!
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ReplyDeleteI love book bloggers and Librarians because they ROCK!!!!!
ReplyDeletereadteachwrute@gmail.com
Hiya! New follower, here.
ReplyDeleteI love book bloggers and librarians because I can always count on them when I need to get out of a writers' block. You're wonderful guides, awesome people, and I love reading about your experiences as book-lovers/writers.
:)
Never stop being awesome!!
Great contest! I am now following you on both Twitter and your blog. I love librarians and book bloggers, because I am both! (though not technically a Librarian, because I didn't go to school, but I work at a library) I love other book bloggers because they help me share my passion and I love librarians who make book loving contagious!
ReplyDeleteThanks
Book bloggers and librarians will always be my favorite people because they have infectious excitement about books and literacy regardless of their age or the ages of their readers.
ReplyDeleteI have been incredibly lucky to grow up around book-lovers and librarians eager to feed my early desires to read as much as possible, but not everyone or every child has access to the rich worlds in books. So as a bibliophile strongly invested in media literacy, I have much love for book bloggers and librarians because they encourage past, current, and future readers to try a new book or two (or more!) for the love of reading.